Vader en Zoon
by Lee Savage
Summary: Chiro probably should've never been so secretive about his nightmares. What happens when it goes too far? One shot.


Disclaimer/Author's Note- Okay, I do NOT own the Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce (Go!). Ciro Neili is the respected person that created them, so he takes the credit. Secondly, I'm a huge fan of the Antauri/Chiro father/son bonding, but this idea did not start out as mine. At the Monkey See, Monkey Fu! Forum I "adopted" this from Silver Wings, who might have an account here... although I don't want to say my guess just in case it's incorrect. Silver Wings came up with this, and I volunteered to make a story out of it. She should take credit for this idea's being and basically the theme of this, but I wrote this story, and I had permission to do it too. What I started from is shown here... (bows to Silver Wings)

_"Original Stats by Silver Wings:_

_Title:none  
Genre:Drama/General  
Estimated Rating: K+  
Relationships:father/son Antauri/Chiro thingy  
Summary: After the episode 'Night of Fear' Antauri confronts Chiro about why he is afraid of his childhood or something like that  
Started?: Nope "_

Please enjoy.

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Vader en Zoon

Shuggazoom City was silent as the starry reaches of night veiled the sky and the moon glowed brightly against raindrops that made a soft _pitter-patter _on the sidewalk. Soon the sprinkle turned into a much needed shower of heavy pouring that clanked against the rooftops. The sound was calming for most, and for others it was disturbing... Far in the distance, a loud alarm clock buzzed three times in a small room, signaling the coming of midnight.

The room was circular and very dark. A single pair of exhausted sapphire blue eyes gazed sleepily at the floor. There was nothing interesting about the floor, seeing as he could barely see it. Outlines of plastic and metal action figures of heroes and intergalactic space villains were spotted strewn on the ground in a discarded fashion. Two feet dangled off of a bed in the center of the room. One kicked softly at one of the toys right under his foot. The foot belonged to a teenage boy with untamed black hair dressed in soft, faded blue flannel pants and a nightshirt. His name was Chiro, leader of the Monkey Team, who could not rest this rainy night.

The wind was blowing against the robot roughly and creaking and racket met the young lad's ears. The rain was soothing, yet hardly aroused him from his thoughts. The dark thoughts that came to him after a nightmare or a long case of insomnia. Tonight, Chiro couldn't sleep. It sorta _sucked, _as Chiro put it bluntly. Every night, he barely slept, and when he did...bad things happened.

He was afraid to go to sleep now, and his mental stress prevented him from having any further issues with his dreams. This was both a curse and a blessing. The nightmares no longer came to him (although they still haunted him) but the price was his senses. He was falling behind in his lessons with Gibson, and in training. After a few days, when the team had noticed the worn bags under his eyes and his dazed reactions to everything, they had finally asked about his state of mind.

_"Hey, buddy...how you doin'?" Otto asked casually asked with a kind grin on his face. Chiro had just swooped out of Gibson's room through the teleportation tube and walked casually to his room. When Otto intervened him with his cheery attitude, Chiro felt like he should smile back at the green primate. He did so._

_"Oh yeah, hi Otto." The young teenager mumbled sheepishly. The monkey's onyx orbs didn't look any less enthusiastic, then Sprx spoke up._

_"Hey kid, how did Gibson's lectures go?" The vermillion simian always referred to the blue monkey's lessons as "lectures" instead of "lessons" ever since his systems had shut down when they had mistaken Sprx's boredom for need of rest. The lesson had gone fine, but Gibson had dismissed him early in the middle of his long lesson about matter. **I wondered if he noticed me yawn. **Chiro suddenly felt guilty. The blue monkey's lectures weren't that bad._

_"Great." The boy felt foolish as he put his two pale hands on the back of his head and dug his nails in his scalp. He bit his lip, waiting uneasily for the reply. To his relief, Sprx only nodded with a frown on his lips. He patted Chiro lightly on the back as he passed to start a conversation with Nova as she walked out of training alone. The Chosen One felt his senses grow dull over the past few days, so he barely felt his friend's reassuring hand, but he watched him go tiredly. Otto was still there, his gaze was intent as he just stared at Chiro with the rest of his countenance blank._

_Gibson hadn't come down yet. Secretly, Chiro mentally prayed that the scientific primate wouldn't come down anytime soon. After the whole incident a week ago where they all had each of their traumatic fears exposed, they had all been extra cautious to hide their individual unease. Sprx, who had gone as blind as a bat tried to, even when he was sightless to act as normal and casual as possible. Nova spent most of her time in her room or in training sessions by herself, practicing her fighting skills. Otto, pretended to forget the catastrophic capture he had endured when humongous clams with unshaved feet had taken him away. So far it had worked. Then Antauri, didn't appear phased at all. Of course, Gibson tried to hide his blunders by acting extra smart, which was heck for the rest of his teammates. Chiro imagined in great detail that the robotic primate would come down and insist on doing these ridiculously expanded experiments and scans to make sure his beloved hero was at full health._

_Chiro didn't know why, but he was absolutely terrified to reveal his troubles to anyone. They made him seem so...childish and defenseless. What good was he if he couldn't even handle a bunch of silly dreams?_

_What horrified him most was the almost faded memory where his dreams had turned against him **and **the team. After a few days of waking up in a sheen of slick sweat and screaming like he was being stabbed to death, he had actually had a nightmare about being trapped in some dream world. It was a perilous place where the Monkey Team had learned a dark secret, and it was **his **fault. If only he could've fought his fears sooner instead of risking his friends' lives. **I should've been a better fighter..I should've been smarter...**_

_The boy felt vigorous tugging on his right sleeve. Chiro looked down with dreary eyes and saw the green monkey with a mixture of uncertainty and indecision in his eyes. "Chiro! Chiro!" Otto tugged relentlessly with urgency stated clearly in his tone. "Are you all right?"_

_The raven haired boy shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Uh...What are you talking about?" His mind drifted to his recent thoughts and what they reminded him of. He shuddered inwardly._

_"You sorta drifted off for a bit." Otto leaned his head to the side as Chiro blinked stupidly. "Are you sure you're okay?" The green simian's voice seemed both equally concerned and had some friendly teasing added in the depths. The boy nodded his head repeatedly, like one of those bobbing head things you would find in a cereal box, before shoving Otto away weakly and staggering toward the mandarin orange tube that lead to his bedroom. Chiro felt slightly queasy, and wanted to lie down **(but not go to sleep). **Suddenly, out of the still air, a figure materialized there in front of him. It had its back to him. Chiro jumped and temporarily had his heart threaten to break his ribs._

_Then, he realized that the figure was Antauri. He felt like laughing at his stupidity. The silver simian turned abruptly and gazed at the feeble boy with gentle, cobalt eyes. His face was solemn as he looked at Chiro's stressed visage. The leader knew what the second-in-command was doing. **He's reading me like a book. He knows something's up. Antauri always knows. **There was a silence as Antauri gazed intently at Chiro's face, searching for signs of any distress. The boy remained quiet, only half aware of what the robot was thinking. Eventually, the second-in-command broke the silence._

_"Good evening, Chiro." His mentor's calm voice almost made Chiro jump out of his shoes. He felt his self-esteem officially plummet. **It's only a simple sentence, idiot! Just say something BACK!**_

_"H-Hey Antauri." Chiro stumbled out. He mentally slapped himself. Antauri would definitely be suspicious now. The boy gazed at the other with hidden eyes that covered up his shame, although there was no use pretending anyway. He was **so **obvious._

_"Is everything all right, Chiro?" **See? Just like the others. **Antauri looked around expectantly._

_"Yeah, it's all great Antauri." **I don't have time for this. **He noticed how timid the silver monkey seemed about the matter, when he would usually get straight to the issue. He slowly stepped beside Antauri, who seemed lost in thought. Chiro had thought he had escaped the grasps of his stern mentor. Hastily, he tiptoed to the long tube quietly. _

_Then, freezing cold digits wrapped around his sleeve in a firm grip. The sterling monkey never even looked up. It was strange how he would just stand there for seconds, even hours without blinking, or in other cases, opening his eyes._

_**Why doesn't he just let g-**_

_"Chiro." Antauri continued to keep a calm, yet stern tone, while Chiro slowly burrowed his teeth into his lower lip, leaving stressed bite marks. **Why am I so afraid?** He left the question at that, because deep down he knew the answer, and it hurt just as bad as the denial. Chiro was so caught up in his regret and troubled mind that he could only stumble sideways stupidly as Antauri patiently released the boy. He hadn't had a very firm grip on the boy, but Chiro was so deeply disorientated that the release of pressure was enough to unstable him. Luckily, the raven-haired child was able to place his hand on the outer surface of the tube before his head could connect to it and the impact could cause any real damage. Antauri appeared ever-so-slightly stunned at Chiro's daze. It was so unlike the teenager to be this numb to his surroundings. "Why do I feel like there is something you're not telling me?"_

_**What is he talking about? **Everything seemed to be in a haze. Reality seemed to swerve and twist before his eyes. When he turned clumsily to face Antauri, it was only then that he realized that the silver primate had his arms crossed, and eyes were opened fully, and seemed to burn deep into his soul. Chiro honestly wanted to tell the team to not worry about anything, that he was just having "stupid" nightmares, but they would just worry more. He still despised the dumb, unknowing facade he played on his countenance. They knew something was bothering him. Why couldn't he just talk about it? They were his partners, his friends, his **family.**_

_Chiro tried to act bemused, or at least slightly surprised. "Wha? What're you talking about Antauri?" The young boy moved his shoulders up in a careless shrug and gazed to his side, and away from the second-in-command's piercing orbs. **I just wanna be left alone, but if I go to sleep, the nightmares might come again, and I might not wake up. But wait that's stupid. They're just dreams. Mental projections. That's all. **Chiro absolutely hated himself more than usual for not only lying to the monkeys, but to himself. He knew better. Anything was possible._

_Chiro glimpsed to his other side. The other simians, minus the laboring Gibson, were all huddled together laughing and whispering quietly like a bunch of carefree school children. The lad mentally wished in a brief prayer that he could enjoy normal situations. Instead he was battling monsters and risking his life. The tactics lessons and practice sessions always made him drag more and more each day and Chiro wanted some rest, but he was sure the others wouldn't allow it. It was like they were all helpless to save the child's inner spirit._

_And that made everything worse._

_"I am concerned about your well-being, Chiro." Antauri never ceased his deep gaze to even blink. "I sense that you are disturbed, and I feel your troubled presence late at night. My senses tell me that you are in need of assistance." The primate's voice was level, and hardly gave any emotion away. That always made Chiro shiver._

_"Uh, I don't know what you're talking about, Antauri. I feel perfectly fine." **Real smooth. **The leader gave a hint of a smile. **Lies. All lies.**_

_"Chiro." Antauri's voice was stern and abrupt, and his muzzle was drawn back and pursed with a mix of a weary grimace. A very pregnant pause followed. The capillaries in Chiro's eyes seemed to burn and strain as the boy too tried to remain emotionless. "We are a team. You do not have to try to hide anything from me. I can help you."_

_The leader's patience began to wear thin. "I'm fine, really. I just had a few rough nights, that's all." The teenager stretched his pale arms in a mock stretch. "I kinda tired now. Can I go to bed?" The raven-haired boy felt childish asking his second-in-command whether he was allowed to drag into bed early like a little kid inquiring his parents for something, but he needed to think...and he needed quiet._

_"Are you sure? Maybe we should check in with Gibson and s-" Chiro lost it. He was the leader for Shuggazoom's sake! He could handle himself!_

_"I'm not a child, okay? I can handle myself. I don't need supervision." Chiro turned away from the silver monkey and ran to his room. Chiro almost trampled over Gibson on the way out. The scientist launched backward as the boy dashed to his room like a little toddler who was going into hiding because he had thrown a temper tantrum in front of his parents. All eyes turned to him. He didn't look back to see the expression Gibson gave his wise mentor. As he zoomed up, he heard Otto's distant voice in the Control Room._

_"Looks like rain!"_

_**Stupid stupid stupid. I shouldn't have run. Now they're gonna be nagging me in the morning.**_

The wind was still blowing harshly on the Robot's metallic armor and the rain never lightened up even once. _Pit-pat pit-pat. _Wait, was that just his heart? Chiro blinked sleepily and strained to see what the clock read as he opened his mouth in a silent yawn.

_1:28 A.M. _

"Oh c'mon." The boy dug his hands in his scalp, glared at the contraption, then leaned over. "When will the night end?" Chiro hated the night. It was dark and you could never see what was truly there. A single movement in the corner of his eye could be a fantasy, or something lurking deep in the shadows.

_Whoosh. Whoosh. _Stupid wind. At least it kept him awake. He was miserable as he imagined the shadows gathering around near his bed and reaching out their bloody hands out toward his beating heart. They were waiting for him to give in from the exhaustion. As Chiro's head lolled to the side and he felt his and limbs go numb, a noise alerted him of an oncoming intruder.

_Pit pat pit pat pit pat. _The lad leapt onto the opposite side of his bed balled his hands into fists as if facing an adversary.

**_Wait Chiro, is this a dream? Wake up wake up. _**Chiro pinched the skin on his arm and flinched. Nope, he was awake all right.

_Swooosh. **Someone's coming up to my room. **_A large lump in his throat created a huge case of hyperventilating on Chiro's part as sweat trickled down his face. **_Why now?_**

**_'Cause I'm the most vulnerable now. _**He felt like a trapped sheep in a lion's den. He was too tired to fight properly. **_C'mon you've done it before. _**When the whoosh-whoosh sound stopped, a figure stood inches away from Chiro. It was shorter than him, but not by much.

"Hyah!" The leader jumped and in midair (trying to avoid the ceiling) he twisted his feet around and felt energy swerve through his veins. The intruder was to fast. It moved with blinding speed and leaped out of the faster than anything the boy had seen. It glided in the air with ease and grabbed Chiro's leg. He felt his whole world spin as the figure through him on the bed.

"H'oh." Chiro groaned and rubbed his temple as he sat up.

"Chiro?" A bemused, concerned voice reached the boy's ears. His eyes widened in recognition at the person by him.

"Antauri!" Chiro mentally banged himself on an invisible wall. "I didn't know it was you! I thou--"

"It's all right Chiro." The silver simian intervened. Only Antauri's clear silhouette could be seen in the pitch black room. Chiro pondered if the primate's highly attuned senses could see the boy. Chiro missed the few last words as they were drowned in his thoughts. "...we must be alert at all times."

Chiro rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. He could've sworn his temperature went up at least six degrees. "W-what do you need?" He said sheepishly. The second-in-command turned his head from side to side as if trying to prevent a great secret from being revealed from any eavesdroppers. The first comment caught Chiro off guard. Antauri stepped stiff-legged and stopped in front of the boy. Chiro uncurled and curled his fingers slowly tensely. They ached badly.

"Do you recall the incident that occurred a few days ago?" _Incident was one way to put it. _A few nights ago, outside of the Super Robot, the first drastic event of an undiscovered change happened. It was dusk, and while Gibson and Sprx were and inspecting the city for any abnormalities with their Fist Rockets, Sprx started to fly out of control and mistakenly crashed into the center of the Robot's metal chest. When the team had dragged him out of the cockpit, the red monkey had claimed that the lights had gone out in his cockpit and everything had plunged into darkness. He then made an odd remark by asking his teammates to "finish" pulling him out of the cockpit. While he was on his knees, Nova was the first to speak.

_"But Sprx, you **are **out." _Only then did the simian lift his head up. His once onyx orbs were crushed and jagged at the ends while the opening revealed his true eyes, which were small and beady. The irises and the pupils were both milky with and looked smooth and soft, instead of the usual black coloration. He was blind. As the day continued into the night, Gibson started spurting out nonsense about ponies, kangaroos, and moon rocks while Antauri's robotic body started to malfunction and he lost control on what _it _did. When an attack came, Nova lost her wits and was reduced to a witless coward, while Chiro and Otto remained unaffected. Sprx and Nova disappeared after the hysteria.

Later, it got seriously out of hand. The Super Robot's defenses went haywire and turned against the team. When the silver primate had attempted to ghost through a door and turn off the defenses, his body returned to its normal state and he was stuck halfway on both sides of the door. He managed, however, to strain his arm to the switch and saved the others on the other side. Gibson seemed to be frantic and scattered, and then Mandarin's clone reared his ugly face into things. Before anyone could stop him, he unleashed his power onto Chiro and revealed the leader's greatest fear. The teenager was reduced to a mere toddler with soft clothes and a tiny cap to match. His greatest fear was to become a defenseless child, and as he bawled on the cold floor, it only made his foe more gleeful. As if the experience wasn't scary enough, Mandarin attempted to push the maximum.

_"Allow me to end your misery." _

"Chiro..." A hand was placed lightly on Chiro's shoulder. Silence only came from the boy.

_Misery..._

"Can you hear me?" Something was invading the boy's mental state. It was as Antauri had feared. He continued to softly call to the boy, trying not to shake too violently or upset him. He sat down on the cushiony bed beside his leader.

_What's going on? Make it stop. Get away from me! What's doing this? _Chiro clenched his aching eyelids tightly as his mind seemed to swirl in more disturbing views.

This had never happened outside his dreams.

"Chiro...wake up!" Antauri hesitated for a moment. Chiro mumbled something incomprehendable before leaning over more.. As Chiro slowly opened his eyes, the spiritual monkey tried to make eye contact with the boy, but Chiro seemed several miles away. Perhaps it was time for a new approach. Almost regretfully, Antauri closed his eyes and concentrated.

Chiro felt tense as he felt something pull on his pants and tug on the hem of his shirt. He felt just like any other child now, uncharacteristically scared out of his wits as he looked down. Long black tendrils formed clawed hands that tried to plunge Chiro in the ooze's depth. He was alone now, and a feeling akin to loneliness and emptiness overcame him. The sea had no end, and he was abandoned.

"Antauri? Gibson? Nova?" Chiro's throat burned and he felt like his innards would lurch up if he continued. What happened? How could he have no memory on how he'd gotten here? He sniffed. He felt his stomach groan at the rotten smell of old sea water. Chiro hated the ocean, and the smell of still water that hadn't moved on the shore for weeks was wretched. The black claws soaked his pajamas and they clung to his skin and wrapped around his scrawny body. It wasn't an unusual sensation. With his dreams...and all the formless he used to fight all the time...It was still awful though. It made him sick and for once he couldn't think of a way to get out of this predicament.

_**Worst of all, Chiro...You can never escape...**_

"Who's there?" Chiro yelled futilely. The voices were only taunting him and mocking his every move...every thought.

_**Look around, boy. You brought yourself into this hole...**_

Chiro shook his head. "No. I'm not gonna listen. I'm not gonna give in...not this time..." The boy's heart pounded like a drum and bruised his chest.

**_You have no choice..._** A burning sensation in his temple made Chiro uneasy. _Just great... _Then, white-hot pain seared his bones. He let out a rough scream and almost collapsed in the tar-like goo that tried to overwhelm him. "No...Nooo!"

_**The pain can end now, dear child...** _

_No I can't, but it hurts so bad..._

"Chiro..." A familiar, yet distant voice seemed to chime in the darkness. Chiro instantly became alert and tried to grasp onto the sound as if it were a precious lifesaver. He almost fell down. The current was so strong that he felt almost willing to let it sweep him away. The Power Primate seemed mute. It always did that when he was in deep distress. Was it unwilling to help? Or did it finally turn its back on him? The dilemma was getting deeper and deeper..._I should've asked for help._

_Even heroes sometimes need help._

_I'm getting tired of this._

Suddenly, small sparks fluttered on the boy's messy hair. "Whoa!" He stepped back, and the ooze at his waist stilled. "What's going on?" He looked down, then up. Glowing, crackling energy was sputtering out of the colorless sky. They were green, and emitted a strange light among the dark scene. The pain subsided.

**_No you fool!! _**A shrill hiss came afterward, and everything went blank, but Chiro was still lost and alone, like a toddler in a crowded park.

_What? Am I doing that? _The teenager looked at his trembling hands, then felt something brush up against him. He strained the muscles in his neck to look down. Hope and ecstacy immediately overwhelmed him. His spiritual second-in-command was brushing up against him. His glowing magenta claws were sinking into nothing as Antauri kept his teeth bared and his sapphire orbs parallel at the nonexistent horizon.

"Antauri!" Relief washed over the boy in massive tidal waves. The simian continued to crouch. He almost appeared like he was in pain. "...Antauri..."

"It's all right Chiro." The sterling primate turned his head and met the boy's joyous blue eyes. "It's not over."

"W-What do you mean?"

"Chiro, concentrate. We are in a realm in-between the clutches of reality and the surreal dreamworld. This is not real. As you remain here, your soul is being pulled deeper into the state of unconsciousness. It has come to a point to where if you do not seek to awake, you may never be able to return." The monkey's face was calm, yet stern and absolutely unmoving. Chiro wasn't sure whether that meant that he should feel mellow, or if his fate and the simian's were both that grave.

"What do you want me to do?" Chiro grew dizzy, although it was just his mind. "Why don't you leave?"

Antauri's countenance was one of honor and dignity. "I'm not going to leave you, Chiro. We've encountered this before, but this time the stakes are higher." The robotic primate closed his orbs for a split second. "I can sense the field...it's drawing in." Antauri's legs buckled and he lowered to where he was lowered completely on the invisible ground. He softly groaned, as if wanting to show his agony, but not wanting the situation to be worse.

"No! What happened?" Chiro fell to his knees and gasped pleadingly to his mentor.

"Not enough...strength. My power has become extremely limited. I can feel my mechanical parts shutting down..." He reached one hand out to his leader and rested it on the lad's shoulder. "Chiro..."

"Antauri...You shouldn't have come here. You could completely shut down." It was strange and heart-wrenching to see the usually collected simian look so ragged and tired.

"It's too late to counteract that action." Antauri whispered to Chiro calmly. "Only you have the power to mend this, Chiro."

"How?" Chiro was flabbergasted. It was his fault. He _knew _this would happen. "What do you expect me to do?"

"You must separate these illusions from the realm of the living." Antauri instructed wearily. "I've felt something preying on your mind. I know asking you to recall the week's events were too much, and for that I apologize..."

"It's not your fault." Chiro muttered. "I made this happen in the first place."

"No. Listen. Only _you _can stop this. The past has set its course, and now you must teach yourself from it. To mend this incident, you only need to ask yourself one complex question..." The wise simian's voice was shallow, but startling accepted. It was as if he had full trust in the boy and he was certain everything would be okay. Chiro couldn't say he shared the sterling monkey's certainty.

"What do I need to know...or ask?" The young teen sputtered. His headache had gotten worse. The silver primate had yet to remove his digits from the youngster's shoulder.

"Why are you here, Chiro?" Chiro's heart seemed to stop thudding. Antauri's hand limply relieved the pressure from his shoulders as he collapsed. Chiro scooped the monkey in his arms and partly cradled the body while he contemplated.

_Why are you here, Chiro...? Chiro..._

_I'm...not sure. If I knew, I could've gotten out before._

_No. Think. _Chiro thought. He felt like straining his brain further would cause it to seizure. He knew he wasn't really there...but with every second he felt like he was. He couldn't move, and his sore limbs made the experience realistic. _I can't do it. _He looked down at his sleeping friend. He had come all this way just to help the troubled teen, instead of violently shaking the mortal shell. Chiro wished he could return the favor. _Think. Think. Think. Don't forget._

_Why are you **here? **_His brain jolted and his memory swerved. The lightheadedness...the nausea... As he remembered, he felt more distant. Chiro's eyes grew heavy. _Don't fall asleep. Think. Ignore the other voices. Listen to Antauri's._

_Why are you here? Are you afraid?_ Now the leader's own voice interfered. _Of course._

_Wait. I can't go to sleep. I can't remember that past. Wait...that's it?_

Chiro blinked groggily and his eyelashes burned. "I'm-m...afraid to think a-about all of the stuff that happened in the past...and my nightmares made me f-f-feel worse. I was afraid to go to s-sleep." He fell forward and everything went black. The field shattered and everything dived through the crack.

The deed was done.

Creamy orange light seeped through the cracks in the room as a teenager in faded flannel pajamas shot up from his bed. His gaze pierced the darkness, and he looked at his hands. _What...A dream...?_

"Good morning, Chiro." A deep voice greeted the teenager. Chiro jumped from under his covers.

"Antauri?" He spotted the simian in the corner of the room, a hint of a smile on his muzzle. "What happened?" The boy demanded.

"It appears that you've had your first full night sleep for quite awhile." Antauri might've been amused, but now he was dead serious.

"You mean..."

"I felt some progress occur within your spiritual conscience." The mentor stated. "Did you have anymore nightmares?"

Chiro blinked. "N-No." Silence. Two arms were crossed.

"Chiro..."

"What time is it?" The question was unnecessary. Antauri glimpsed at Chiro's old alarm clock.

"Early enough." The sterling monkey replied dryly. "I've been meaning to ask you something."

"Uh...yeah?" Chiro, didn't know why, but the conversation made him feel uneasy.

Antauri's face softened. "The past few days have been...restless...to say the least. One thing has plagued my mind throughout this entire time..." The silver primate trailed off, but only for a second. He gazed deep into the other's orbs.

"Chiro."

"Yeah."

"You have never acknowledged your childhood years with any of the team members." His voice was plain and direct. "After what we had experienced a few days ago...I've become deeply concerned. Something is bothering you spiritually, and it has something to do with what you've been hiding from us."

Chiro could only stare stupidly. That was a lot to spill out in just a few sentences, but Chiro only grew more reluctant.

"Is it really that bad?" He murmured.

"I care for you, Chiro." Antauri was quiet, and he sounded somewhat unlike himself. "I am concerned for your health, and I just want to see if I can assure you in any way that your secrets are safe if you wish to reveal anything."

It was tempting, Chiro pondered. He wanted to tell Antauri the entire deal about his past and why he was scared of his childhood and being like a little kid. Chiro was still insecure about being leader. He had messed up a ton already. He felt like _he _was the only thing holding the team back.

"It doesn't...bother you, does it?" Chiro asked slowly.

"What are you referring to?" The cobalt orbs glowed in the semi-darkness.

"Having to watch over me and stuff. You seem around a lot when I'm and trouble, and I've never really said thank you, and I hope I don't get on your nerves and stuff..." Antauri made a signal with his hand.

"We've been through many ordeals, Chiro. Out of all of our deadly encounters, not once have you let me down. You should never think that I am displeased with your conduct, unless there is a significant reason. I will always be here for you Chiro. You've done so much, and I am simply here to teach and return the favor." In the distance, a rooster crowed. Chiro was taken aback.

"So, if you ever want to talk..." Antauri nodded.

"The others should be waking up soon. I must go and prepare arrangements. Whenever you need to discuss anything with me, I'll be there for Chiro. Now rest. Training begins in four hours." With that, the primate stepped through the door and it _whooshed _closed.

Chiro just stared. He heard no rain. Maybe one day he would reveal everything to the team, but not now. There were many days ahead to plan for that.

And today was going to be great

-_--_

Author's Note- FINALLY! I thought this would _never _be completed. This is thirteen pages, and this is a ONESHOT. Please do not tell me to update soon. I have to say this was dramatic...and I didn't expect it to be this long. Sorry if the length is a disadvantage. I also apologize to the readers of Red. This delayed the next chapters, and I'm writing some other stuff, but it's still a continued story. I apologize for that too...and I hope this was good enough. Once again, credit goes to Silver Wings, although the story is mine, the idea is not. I sort of twisted the idea, but oh well. "Vader en Zoon" means "Father and Son." I've gotten to where I can't think up any titles for...anything. So I went to a translator. Also, I'm still trying to get a grip on writing in-character and trying not to make everything TOO soupy and emotional. I make Chiro with complex self esteem issues for some reason. Once again, oh well. I know I should've made Antauri more persistant, but that might leave room for a sequel.


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